Apparatus for pitting peaches



May 4, 1965 J. M. HAlT' 3,181,531

APPARATUS FOR FITTING PEACHES Original Filed Oct. 22, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 T'II3 l INVENTOR JAMES M. HAIT ATTORN EY May 4, 1965 J. M. HAIT 3,181,581

APPARATUS FOR FITTING PEACHES Original Filed Oct. 22, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 M L Ila,

INVENTOR JAMES M. H AIT ATTORNEY May 4, 1965 J. M. HAIT 3,181,581

APPARATUS f'oR FITTING PEACHES Original Filed Oct. 22, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVINTDR JAMES I. NAIT :YMETW ATTORNEY May 4, 1965 J. M. HAIT 3,181,581

APPARATUS FOR FITTING PEACHES Original Filed Oct. 22, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 LL 2.4l 230 2l0-' I 235' INVEN'I'OR JAMES M. HAIT I E: 1 1 BY ATTfiY United States Patent 3,181,581 APPARATUS FOR FITTING PEACHES James M. Hait, San Jose, Calif., assignor to FMC Corporation, San Jose, Caiifi, a corporation of Delaware Original application Get. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 691,671, now Patent No. 3,040,795, dated June 26, 1962. Divided and this application Sept. 19, 1961, Ser. No. 139,232

12 Claims. (Cl. 146-28) This invention pertains to the processing of fruit and more particularly relates to an apparatus for pitting peaches.

This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 691,671 which was filed on October 22, 1957, now Patent No. 3,040,795 issued June 26, 1962.

In one method of pitting peaches, each peach is bisected by blades having serrated edges which penetrate the peach and grip the pit. While the pit is held in fixed position, twisting heads engage the peach halves and twist the halves in opposite directions to free them from the pit. Machines for carrying out the twist pitting of peaches have been generally unsatisfactory due to their low output and due to the fact that they have been unable to successfully separate peach halves having split pits from peach halves that have been satisfactorily pitted.

An object is to provide an improved twist pitting machine.

Another object is to provide a twist pitting machine capable of separating peach halves having split pits from peach halves that have been completely pitted.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, vertical, diagrammatic section taken centrally through the peach pitting machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical, diagrammatic section taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary, horizontal, diagrammatic section taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical, diagrammatic section taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 3, particularly showing the gripping blades used in the present machine in an open peach receiving position.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the blade assembly of FIG. 4, illustrating the blades in a closed pit gripping position.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary, horizontal, diagrammatic section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical diagrammatic section taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary, vertical, diagrammatic section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of a portion of the drive mechanism used in the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of the peach feed mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary diagrammatic plan of a modified arrangement of the machine of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, vertical, diagrammatic section taken on line 12-12 of FIG. 11.

The peach pitting machine of the present invention is provided with a turret 10 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which is keyed to the lower end of an intermittently driven vertical drive shaft 12. The turret comprises a hub 11 and six pit gripper blade assemblies 14 (FIG. 3) mounted on the hub. As the drive shaft 12 is intermittently rotated, each blade assembly is moved in a counterclockwise rotary path to six successive stations, indicated by the reference letters A, B, C, D, E, and P, which are disposed at 69 degree intervals around the shaft 12. At station A, a

ice

peach P (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 4) is positioned on the blade assembly, when blades 16 and 18 of the assembly are in an open, vertical position. The next indexing movement of the turret causes the blade assembly to be moved to station B and, duringthis movement, the blades are moved to a closed position shown in FIG. 5, to cut into and through the flesh of the peach all the way to the pit, which is then firmly gripped by the blades. Also, during this first indexing movement, the blades are rotated about a horizontal axis from a vertical position at station A to a horizontal position at station B.

A twisting head 20 (FIG. 1) is mounted in the machine directly above station B. While the blade assembly with the peach impaled thereon is held in fixed position at station B, the head 20 is moved downwardly to engage and grip the half of the peach on the upper surface of the blade assembly. When the head has gripped the peach half, the head is rotated about a vertical axis causing the peach half to be twisted from the stationary pit. After the peach half is free from the pit, the head is caused to release the peach half and allow the half to remain on the upper surface of the blade assembly.

During the next indexing movement of the turret, the blade assembly is rotated to a vertical position at station C (FIG. 3) and, during this rotary movement, the loose peach half is dropped onto a conveyor 24 which is disposed below station C. The pit and the second half of the peach remain in fixed position on the blade assembly while the blade assembly is at station C.

Next, the blade assembly is indexed to station D and, during this indexing movement, the blade assembly is rotated to a horizontal position with the second half of the peach disposed on the upper surface of the blade assembly. A twisting head 28 (FIG. 1) which is mounted above the blade assembly at station D, is moved downwardly to grip the second peach half and twist it free from the pit. Then, as the blade assembly is indexed to station E, (FIG. 3), the second half of the peach is dropped onto conveyor 24. During the movement of the blade assembly from station E to station F, the blade assembly is rotated and the blades 16 and 18 are opened causing the pit to be dropped into a chute which directs the pit to a second conveyor 29. The next indexing movement of the turret returns the blade assembly to a vertical, open position at feed station A.

Power is supplied to the machine by an electric motor 30 (FIG. 1) which is arranged to drive an input shaft 31 through a belt and pulley arrangement 32. The drive shaft 31 is journalled for rotation in bearings 33a and 33b on the side walls of a rigid housing 34 that is supported in fixed position above a base 35. As seen in FIG. 9 a face cam 36 is keyed to drive shaft 31 as is a drive member 37 of a Ferguson drive mechanism 38, a second face cam 39, a sprocket 4t), and a cylindrical cam 41 that carries a disc cam 42. It is to be noted that, during the operation of the machine, the shaft 31 and all these members are continuously rotated.

The turret drive shaft 12 (FIG. 1) is rotatably supported in a tubular support member 43 that is bolted to the lower wall of the housing 34. At its upper end the shaft 12 carries a driven member 44 of the Ferguson drive mechanism 38 which is arranged to intermittently index the shaft through 60 degree increments of angular movement.

The turret 10 is connected to the drive shaft 12 through a key 45 (FIG. 4) disposed between the shaft and the hub 11. The hub 11 is a generally cylindrical member having six longitudinal, vertically disposed slots 46 (FIG. 3). The slots are spaced equi-angularly around the hub, one slot being associated with each blade assembly 14. A lever 47 is pivotally mounted in each slot and carries, at its lower end, a follower roller 48 that rides on the 7 face of the cam 49.

peripheral carnming surface of a cam 49 that is freely journalled on the drive shaft 12 so that, while the shaft 12 is intermittently rotated, the cam 49 may be held in fixed position by an anchoring tie bar 50 (FIG. 1) ex: tending between the cam 49 and the wall of a housing 51 that encloses the turret I The camming surface of the cam 49 is so designed that each lever 47 is swung outwardly to contact a push rod 55 (FIG. 4) which is slidably mounted in a pivot tube 56 projecting radially outwardly from the hub 11. The. push rod is arranged to engage arms 57 and 58, one of which is fixed to each of the blades 16 and 18. Out- .so designed that the head 28 is raised and lowered once during eachrevolution of the shaft 31. Similarly, the head 20 is raised and lowered by means of a yoke 101 formed on the end of a lever 102 that is pivotally mounted ward movementuof the push rod 55 causes .the'blades to be moved to open position against the resistance of a pair of springs 59a and 59b,(FIG. 5) which are disposed between bars 60a and 60b which extend transversely across inner extension of the blades 16 and 18. Each of the blades 16 and 18 is pivotally mounted between spaced ears 61a and 61b (FIG. 3) of a generally tubular blade carrier 61 which is rotatably mounted on the pivot shaft 56 (FIG.'4) and has a gear 62 keyed to its inner end. It will be understood that the peach is fed to the blades while they are in open position at station A and,'as the blades are indexed to station B, the springs 59a and 5% move the blades inwardly to sever the flesh of the peach and grip the pit.

Each blade assembly is rotated about the pivot shaft 56, duringintermittent indexing of. theturret, by means of a bevel gear 63' that is freely journalled on the drive shaft 12 and is in mesh with the six gears 62of the six blade carriers 61. The gear 63is held in fixed, nonrotating position by an anchoring bar 65 (FIG. 3) that is connected betweenythe gear 63, and the wall of the turret enclosure 51. 7 carried in a circular path by the hub 11, each blade as.- sembly is rotated aboutthe .axis of pivot shaft 56 by the intermeshing of the gears 62 and 63, and the blades- 16 and 18 are moved to open or closed position in response to changes in the contour of the camming sur- The heads 20 and 28, which are shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, may be of any suitable type, as for example, a cup having a plurality of arms, with spring loaded pads which are'movable, due to the downward move ment of the head, into gripping engagement with the peach. Such'a twister head and its operation is disclosed in detail in the application for patent, Serial No. 691,620 now Patent No. 3,035,620, of Robert W. Drake on a pin 103and" carries a cam follower roller 104 disposed in a groove 105 of the face cam 39 that is keyed to the drive shaft 31.

Peaches are fed to the blade assemblies by two feed members 110 a'nd 111 (FIG. 10) each of which is carried by an arm ll 2 that is pivotally mounted on a vertical shaft 114; Each feed member is movable from a peach receiving. position X to a transfer position Y wherein the peach is impaled on a fixed vertical blade 115 that is mounted'on a fra'memember 116 (FIG. 1) in radial alignment with the feed station A of theturret. The two feed members are moved in timed relation so that, when one is at the transfer position Y (FIG. 10) the other member is at the fruitreceiving position X. After one of the feed members has impaleda peach on the fixed blade 115 at position Y, a pair of transfer cups 117 and 118 are moved inwardly from opposite sides 'of the blade 1-15 to engage the peach. When the peach is engaged, the 'cups are moved radially inwardly of the Thus, as the blade assemblies are and Sherman H. Creed which was filed on October'22,

1957 and assigned to the same assignee as is the present application. The details of construction of these heads are not a part of the present invention. Each of the heads 20 and 28 is rotated during the peach twisting I operation by means of a vertical shaft 70' (FIGS. 1, 6

and 9) which is intermittently rotated by a second driven member 71 of the Ferguson'drive mechanism 38. The,

head 28 is connected to a shaft 75 (FIGQlYwhich has 1. a gear 76 keyed thereto near itsupperend. The gear 76 is arranged to be driven from a gear 77 (FIG.f9) on e Similarly, thehead'20 is provided with a vertical turret to remove the peach from the blade 115 and position it between the open blades of the blade assembly 14 that is at feed station A. V

The feed'member 110 is moved from'position X to position Y by rotation of-shaft 114 and thisflrotation is efiected by a link 1191 (FIG. 6) that is'pivotally connected between an arm 120 that is keyed to the shaft 114 and a bellcrank 121.wh-ich is" pivotally mounted on a fixedpost 122.- A tie rod'123 is pivoted 'at one end 'to. bellcrank 121 and, at the other end, is pivoted to a be evident that, as the drive shaft 31 rotates face cam 129, the tie rod 123, bellcrank 12 1, link 119, and. arm

120 oscillates the feed member 110 in timed relation with the drive shaft 31. v

Similarly, the feed member 111'(FIG."6) is moved between the peachreceivinglposition and the peach impaling position by arfn- 140 that iskeyed to the vertical rotatable shaft, 114'to which the feed membersup v a face cam 147- thatis also keyedto the shaft 130' which is rotated from drive shaft 31 by chain 135. 1 At the lower end, of follower arrn 142.,"a link 150 i pivotally connectedto a projecting tab142a of the arm 142' and to the arm 1 40 so'that thefshaft 114 is oscillated in timed 77 on the Ferguson drive shaft through arr-idler gear 7 87. Since the heads 20 and'28 and the tjurret 10 are a stationary dwell period between successive indexing movements. V The head 28 is raised and lowered by a yoke 90 (FIG.

6) that has lifter arms 91 arranged to fit into an annular slot 92 (FIG. 1') formed in the vertical shaft""which is connected to thehead '28.. The yoke; is formed lated in timed relation with each-other.-

s Each of'the transfer cups 117and 118 relation with the drive shaft 31. Since the face cams 129 and 147 are both-keyedto the shaft 130, it will be evident thatthe feed members" and 111 are oscil- V which carry the peach from the fixed blade to the open blades of the blade-assembly 14 at feed stationA, is mounted on the lower end of a' bar '(FIG. 2). At its upper .end, each bar 155 i's b'olted 'to a yoke-like: support memon the outer end of a lever 94. (FIG. 6) that is pivotally mounted on "a pin 95 v projecting inwardly from lthe "wall ber 156' (FIG. 1) that. comprises two hubsli 156qj and 156b connected by a st'r'ap" 15.6c,"anda depending arm 156d to which the cupjbar l55 is secured. A'fixed rod 157 slidably and rotatably receives the hubs 156a and 15611.

The cross strap 1560 of each of the two support mem bers 156 carries a rotatable roller 158. The two rollers 158 are disposed close together in the path of downward movement of an actuator plate 162 carried on a pivotally mounted lever 163 (FIG. 2). A cam follower roller 164 is mounted on the upper surface of the lever 163 intermediate the ends of the lever. The roller 164 rides along a camming surface 165 formed on the periphery of the disc cam 42 (FIG. 1) that is secured to or formed integral with the cylindrical cam 41 keyed to drive shaft 31. As seen in FIG. 2, when the roller follower 164 is moved downwardly by cam 42, the lever is swung downwardly, causing the actuator plate 162 to engage the two rollers 158 and swing the cups 117 and 118 outwardly away from each other. A spring 172 which is connected between the lever 163 and the support structure 34, urges the lever 163 in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 2) so that the lever 163 is periodically swung upwardly, under the control of cam 42 to move the actuator plate 162 away from the rollers 158 and to permit a spring 173, which is connected between the levers 155, to pivot the cups 117 and 118 into gripping engagement with the peach on the fixed impaling blade 115.

The cups 117 and 118 are reciprocated toward and away from the blade assembly 14 at feed station A by means of the cylindrical cam 41 (FIG. 1) which is arranged to oscillate a lever 174 that has a forked lower end disposed around a roller 175 carried at one end of a rod 177. The rod 177, which is slidably disposed in an opening 178 provided in the support structure 34, has its other end fixed in a plate 185 that also carries a rod 186 in parallel relation to rod 177. A pusher unit 190 is secured to the inner end of rod 186. The unit 190 has two spaced hub portions 190a and 19% (FIG. 2) each of which is slidably disposed on one of the fixed rods 157. As seen in FIG. 1, each pusher hub is disposed between the two hubs 156a and 1561) of one of the support members 156 which carry the cup levers 155. It will be evident that, when the cylindrical cam 41 is rotated, the lever 174 moves the parallel rods 177 and 186 radially inward or outward of the turret to move the transfer cups 117 and 118 toward or away from the blade assembly 14 disposed at feed station A.

To put the machine into operation, power is supplied to the drive shaft 31 (FIG. 6) to cause it to be continuously rotated. As the shaft 31 rotates, it drives the twisting head lift cams 36 and 39, the drive member 37 of the Ferguson drive mechanism 38, the disc cam 42 which controls the transfer cups 117 and 118, and the cylindrical cam 41 that controls the movement of the peach to the blade assembly at feed station A.

In summarizing the operation of the machine the progress of a single peach, as it moves through the machine, will be traced. The peach P is positioned on the blade 118a (FIGS. 1 and 6) of the feed member 110 when the blade is in the rearward position X. The peach is so positioned on the blade that the suture plane of the peach is substantially in the plane of the blade and the pit P of the peach is positioned with its long axis generally horizontal and in the plane of the blade as seen in FIG. 1. As the drive shaft 31 rotates, the face cam 129 is rotated by chain 135 to actuate the tie rod 123,

ally inwardly to remove the peach from the fixed blade 115 and the feed member blade 110a, and impale it on the blades 16 and 18 which are being held in fixed, open position at the feed station A.

After the peach has been impaled on the open blades 16 and 18, the cam 49 on the lower end of the turret shaft (FIG. 4) permits the follower arm 47 to swing inwardly and allow the springs 59 and 68 to move the blades 16 and 18 toward each other to cut into the peach and grip the pit, as shown in FIG. 5. At about the same time, the disc cam 42 (FIG. 2) swings the lever 163 clockwise, causing the plate 162 to engage the two rollers 158 and swing the cups 117 and 118 to open position.

After the pit of the peach has been firmly gripped by the blades 16 and 18, the Ferguson drive indexes the turret to move the blade assembly through 60 of angular movement to station E. During this movement, in the direction of arrow R (FIG. 3), the gear 62 associated with the blade assembly rolls along the fixed gear 63 and eifects a rotation of the blade assembly about the longitudinal axis of the assembly. The direction of rotation is such that the blade 16 which is uppermost at station A is rearwardly of blade 18 at stat-ion B, as Shown in FIG. 3. When the blade assembly reaches station B, the blades are disposed in a substantially horizontal plane. After the blade assembly has come to rest at station B, the cam 39 lowers the twisting head 20 into gripping engagement with the peach half on the upper surface of the blades. The Ferguson drive 38 then rotates the twisting head shaft 83 to cause the peach half to be twisted free from the stationary pit. The twisting head 20 is then raised by cam 39 causing the head to release the peach half which remains on the blades.

The turret is again indexed to move the blade assembly to station C. During the movement toward station C, the blade assembly is rotated 90 in a counterclockwise direction about its longitudinal axis. This 90 rotation moves the blade 18 upwardly and the blade 16 downwardly and causes the free peach half to slide or tumble 011 the blades and be directed by an inclined wall 200 of the turret enclosure onto the conveyor 24.

When the turret is next indexed to station D, the blade assembly is again rotated 90 to bring the remaining peach half into position below the twisting head 28. The cam 36 then moves the twisting head 28 downwardly to grip this remaining peach half, and the Ferguson drive 38 rotates the head to free the peach half. When the peach half is free from the pit, the head is moved upwardly causing it to release the peach half. Then as the blade assembly is moved to station E, it is again rotated 90, causing the peach half to drop downwardly onto conveyor 24.

l/Vhile the blade assembly is rotated 90 as it is moved to station F, the blades 16 and 18 are moved to open position by the push rod 55 under the control of cam 49. Accordingly, the pit is released and drops downwardly and is guided by inclined walls 201 and 262 onto the pit conveyor 29. During the next indexing movement of the turret, the blade assembly is rotated to vertical position at feed station A and is ready to receive another whole peach from feed member 110.

In FIGS. 11 and 12 a modified arrangement of the machine is illustrated. This embodiment is particularly adapted for completely separating the half of peaches with split pits from the peach halves that have been pitted satisfactorily. Referring to FIG. 3 it will be noted that, when a peach with a split pit arrives at station E and the upper half is twisted, the lower half will immediately drop downwardly due to the fact that the split pit will break during the twisting operation. This lower half, with approximately half of the pit, will contact an inclined plate 199 and be guided onto a conveyor 202 to be carried to a split pit processing station in the cannery. However, the other half of the split pit peach will drop onto ward-1y therefrom and the other half projects upwardly, means for engaging and twisting said upwardly projecting peach half, whereby the downwardly projecting peach half will fall away from the gripping members if the peach has a split pit, control means having a member disposed in the path of the falling peach half to be actuated thereby, means for collecting said falling peach half, means for rotating said gripping members to dislodge the twisted upper half of the peach, and a movable guide member operatively connected to said control means to be moved thereby to a position adapted to intercept the dislodged upper half of the peach and direct it to said collecting means.

10. A peach pitting machine comprising a pair of coplanar blades arranged to out into a whole peach to bisect the flesh of the peach to the pit and grip the pit, means for positioning said blades in a generally horizontal position with one half of a peach projecting upwardly and the other half projecting downwardly from the blades, means at a first station for engaging and twisting the upper peach half whereby the lower peach half will drop away from the blades if the pit is split, an actuator arm disposed in the path of a falling peach half to be actuated thereby, means for collecting the downwardly falling peach half, means for bodily moving said blades away from said first station and rotating said blades to dislodge the upper peach half during said bodily movement, a guide plate disposed below the path of movement of the blades, a control mechanism connected to said guide plate and arranged upon being activated to move said plate to a position for intercepting the dislodged upper peach half and direct it to said collecting means, and means operatively connecting said actuator arm and said control means so that actuation of said arm by a falling split pit peach half activates said control member.

11. A machine for pitting peaches comprising means for making a planar cut in a whole peach to bisect the flesh of the peach to the pit and grip the pit, a first twisting head mounted on one side of the cutting plane for movement into gripping engagement with a peach half on said one side of the cutting plane, means for rotating said twisting head while in engagement with the peach half to free the peach half from the pit, means for shifting the position of said pit gripping means to position the remaining peach half on said one side of the cutting plane, a second twisting head on said one side of said cutting plane, mounted for movement into gripping engagement with said remaining peach half, and means for rotating said second twisting head.

-12. In an apparatus for pitting peaches of the type wherein gripping members are provided for bisecting the flesh of a whole peach and gripping the pit to effect separate successive collection of the resulting peach halves and the pit at first, second, and third locations respectively; the combination of guide means, and means at said firs-t location, operable in response to a peach half having a split pit, for conditioning said guide means to direct the split-pit-peach-halves to a separate collection device.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 666,701 1/01 Scheidler et al 14628 2,775,279 12/56 Perrelli 14628 3,035,620 5/62 Drake et al. 146-28 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner. JOHN C. CHRISTIE, Examiner. 

1. A PITTING MACHINE COMPRISING GRIPPER MEANS ARRANGED WHEN ACTUATED TO CUT INTO A WHOLE PEACH TO BISECT THE FLESH OF THE FRUIT AND GRIP THE PIT, MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID GRIPPER MEANS, AND MEANS FOR SUCCESSIVELY GRIPPING AND TWISTING EACH PEACH HALF TO TWIST THE HALF AWAY FROM THE PIT HELD BY SAID GRIPPER MEANS. 